Clif Patrick was waiting at the airport at about noon Tuesday for an Uber user to request a ride when an officer asked him to leave. The driver didn’t have a permit to be there.
Patrick is one of the app-powered ride service’s drivers currently not allowed to pick up or drop off customers at Gainesville Regional Airport, which means students in need of rides to and from the airport must rely on separate taxi services for the time being.
“I was surprised he came walking up to my window,” Patrick said. “I’m not angry; I didn’t lose a sale.”
Taxicab drivers and their companies are required to file for a permit and pay a fee to conduct business at the airport — a process Uber has not completed, wrote a Gainesville airport spokeswoman Laura Aguiar.
“Without an airport permit, any driver from any company is asked to leave,” she said. “We are following the city’s discussions regarding changes to the vehicle-for-hire ordinance.”
Uber is currently not on the airport’s list of approved ride services allowed to perform pickups and dropoffs at the airport. The list includes 18 services, including Silver Cab, Gainesville Cab Co. and Gatorland Taxi, according to the airport’s website.
Aguiar said Gainesville Police routinely monitors drivers on airport property, making sure they have a permit.
“Our Airport Police Officers are working closely with the airport management on the issue,” wrote GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias in an email.
The airport’s vehicle-for-hire policies have existed since the commercial terminal opened in the 1970s, Aguiar said.
Since the airport is city property, Aguiar said it maintains operations through fees from airlines, rental car agencies and vehicles for hire instead of local tax dollars.
“Even passengers pay to park in the lots,” she said. “This is a traditional business model for an airport.”
On top of business fees, the airport relies on grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and Florida Department of Transportation, which can’t be maintained by discriminating businesses.
“All businesses are subject to the same requirements to do business at the airport, whether they are airlines, car agencies or vehicles for hire,” she said.
Uber spokesman Taylor Bennett wrote in an email that talks between the service and the airport are in the works.
“We’ve had incredibly productive conversations with the Gainesville airport on how Uber can help improve the travel experience for riders,” Bennett said. “We look forward to continuing those discussions to find a permanent ridesharing solution.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 12/5/2014]
